NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION FOR 2013-14
INTRODUCTION
National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is presenting its Fifth National Plan of Action. The experience has been that the National Plans of Action have helped not only streamline the activities of the Legal Services Authorities (LSAs) across the country but also to step-up their activities. Though much remains to be done, there is no gainsaying that, the legal services activities have expanded manifold and has most certainly shifted from the conventional legal assistance in the courts, to assistance to access to justice, that phrase meaning more than mere access to courts or even to dispute resolution. LSAs are now entering into unchartered terrains by pro-actively reaching out to communities who have till now remained outside the purview of the State.
All this has happened on account of the NALSA’s Scheme of Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs) and the NALSA’s (Legal Aid Clinics) Regulations, 2011. The setting up of legal literacy clubs and holding of legal literacy classes in Schools and Colleges have helped in not only encouraging the students to learn about the law but also to contribute to society by bringing to the notice of the authorities concerned, of any violation of legal rights or avoidance of duties.
With the setting up of ADR centres there is need to strengthen the ADR mechanism and streamline activities in the ADR centres. However, people approaching the courts for redresssal of their rights is a healthy trend and must be encouraged. Simultaneously, therefore, the legal assistance rendered in the courts must be upgraded in terms of quality so that the LSAs are able to meet the demand generated by continued awareness programmes in the community by District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs).
On an assessment of the data received on the web-monitoring system and action taken reports on the Plan and Calendar of activities of NALSA, it appears that States need to gear up a little more in the implementation of the NALSA’s Schemes and Regulations. Each State Legal Services Authority may be encouraged to adopt one scheme in the State for implementation during the current year, of course in addition to the already existing activities of the SLSAs and the activities under the National Plan. Issues that may be locally serious, such as trafficking or drug abuse or mental illness, could be taken up for the project in a State, the choice being left to the State. The NALSA would continue to monitor the activities of the States as per their plans and as per their calendar of activities and also on the National Plan of Action through its web-based monitoring system. The project adopted by the State would also be equally monitored by the NALSA.
In this background, the National Legal Services Authority plans to implement the following activities during the financial year 2013-14:
1) Encourage SLSAs to adopt one project each for focused implementation;
2) Emphasis on quality legal assistance under the NALSA’s (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010 and strengthening the selection process and training and sensitization of panel lawyers;
3) Strengthening of the Para-Legal Volunteers Scheme through enhanced training, mentoring and monitoring;
4) Encouraging legal aid clinics particularly in Colleges, Universities and other institutions and building networks between the District Legal Services Authorities and such Legal Aid Clinics;
5) Encourage ADR methods of LokAdalat, Mediation, Conciliation and Plea-bargaining;
6) Establishing greater coordination with Jails, Correctional Homes, Children’s Homes, Observation Homes, Psychiatric Homes, Boarding Schools, Protective homes etc to ensure that legal rights of these categories are not lost on account of lack of information and lack of assistance and support to enforce those rights;
7) Emphasis on visibility by participation in Melas/Exhibitions, Street-Plays, Radio programmes and T. V. shows etc.
1) Encourage SLSAs to adopt one project each for focused implementation.
In order to make a visible impact through the NALSA’s Schemes, it is necessary that concentrated efforts be made by the State Legal Services Authorities at least in one Scheme or under one Regulation of the NALSA. For instance, States like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar are areas which source child labour and people from these areas, amongst others are thereafter exploited in metro cities for child labour or domestic work or even subjected to sexual abuse. However, despite the fact that awareness programmes are being undertaken in respect of children and women’s rights, there is no visible impact and exploitation continues. Therefore, the State Authority could have a project for a year in which the problem is considered from all angles and village level sensitization programmes are undertaken and assistance is rendered so that children are not sent from villages by parents lulled into the belief that the child is going for education nor are adults tricked into exploitation by unscrupulous persons. This could also possibly lead to greater coordination between State Authorities where a person trafficked from one State lands in another and requires assistance in the second State also. This is only one example.
Each State may be aware of an acute or a serious enough problem that could be taken up under one of the NALSA Schemes. These could be issues relating to children who need protection from drug or sexual abuse, HIV persons, mine workers, tribal, migrant labour, farm labour, right to education or any such issue. Efforts could be made to bring to the people the various schemes of the government for livelihood and rehabilitation during this project. Targets should be set at the beginning of the project and the achievements assessed at the end of the year. Problems faced during implementation and the methods used to resolve them may also be documented so that the experience could be shared at the next National Meet to help other States in similar activities.
2) Emphasis on quality legal assistance under the NALSA’s (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010.
There is a growing concern for the quality of legal aid and assistance that is being given to indigent persons. While it is true that legal aid lawyers come from the same pool of legal community as do those handling private briefs,nevertheless, there appears to be a greater expectation of quality legal assistance from legal aid lawyers. This expectation is alongside a derisive attitude towards legal aid lawyers as being “not good” since they do work for “free”. In the past, till the NALSA’s (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010 came into effect legal aid lawyers were engaged on a voluntary basis and generally lawyers with scant private practice opted for legal aid. Green horns also sought to make legal aid their field training.
However, in the light of the fact that even the Bar Council of India has made legal aid exposure imperative to final year students alongside other clinical legal education, the need to provide a platform throughlegal aid empanelment to a young lawyer to learn the nuances of the profession should not be the guiding spirit. Commitment to the cause of the indigent and the under-privileged and adequate experience to render sound legal assistance and advice must constitute the significant criteria for empanelment with the LSAs. That has been taken care of by NALSA’s (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010.
However, reports from the SLSAs have revealed that training of lawyers has not received the adequate importance that it deserves. No doubt this has to form a crucial aspect of legal services activities, as continuous up-gradation of professional skills would give better lawyers on the panel and greater satisfaction to the beneficiaries of legal aid and who would then gain the respect of the courts beforewhichthey appear. Not only programmes for improvement of lawyering skills, but issue-wise sensitization programmes must also be conducted during this year on wider issues such as juveniles, children in need of care and protection, gender sensitization, HIV, disabilities and the like.
3) Strengthening of the Para-Legal Volunteers Scheme through enhanced training, mentoring and monitoring.
In the past year, a number of Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs) have been trained. However, curriculum has been revised and fresh trainings will need to be imparted to make the PLVs more effective in their work. Stricter monitoring of their activities is the need of the hour. At the same time mentoring and hand-holding would be necessary if the PLVs have to establish themselves within the community as sources of help and solace to the community.
4) Encouraging legal aid clinics particularly in Colleges, Universities and other institutions and building networks between the District Legal Services Authorities and such Legal Aid Clinics.
There has to be a greater expansion of legal aid clinics and stricter monitoring of their activities. Networking between the PLVs, Legal Aid Clinics and the LSAs including the ADR centres must be established. Panel lawyers must be encouraged to go to these legal aid clinics, not only in the colleges but also in village clinics and community centres so that sound legal advice and assistance is available to a person in the community itself without necessitating a visit to the LSA office.
5) Encourage ADR methods of LokAdalat, Mediation, Conciliation and Plea-bargaining.
Once the ADR centres are established, there must be good utilisation of the infrastructure facilities. Towards that end, there must be an emphasis on spreading awareness in the community about the various ADR methods and the benefits of non-adjudicatory methods of dispute resolution. LokAdalats, mediation, conciliation and plea-bargaining must be made familiar to the community at large. Thus, not only civil matters but also compoundable and non-compoundable criminal cases could be disposed of and to that extent the burden with the courts could be reduced. People should be encouraged to adopt the ADR methods before coming to the Court even at the pre-litigation stage, by reference to the lokadalat or mediation or conciliation.
6) Establishing greater coordination with Jails, Correctional Homes, Children’s Homes, Observation Homes, Psychiatric Homes, Protection homes, Boarding Schools to ensure that legal rights of these inmates are not lost on account of lack of information and lack of assistance and support to enforce those rights.
Many times it has come to the notice of the LSAs or the courts, providentially, that someone is wrongly confined in the jails or homes for several years. This problem is more acute in cases where people with sound mental health have been detained in mental health institutions and psychiatric homes without anybody knowing about it and with the hospitals/psychiatric homes not knowing what further to do. Apart from children,the mentally ill persons may also have property rights, rights to maintenance, right to education or employment which may need to be addressed through legal recourse but on account of the rules governing institutions they are unable to come out and access their rights through the courts of law. Pro-active interventions may be required in such cases and the best would be when all concerned appreciate that the issues raised are not adversarial but are only right based.
7) Emphasis on visibility by participation in Melas/Exhibitions, Street-Plays, Radio etc.
Legal Services Authorities and Institutions exist for the categories of people listed under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. However, not many from these categories are actually aware of their entitlements under law for legal aid and assistance. The legal services institutions are of great significance and importance not merely because they are creatures of the Statute but because of the work they are required to do under that Statute. The existence of the LSAs is, therefore, to be loudly proclaimed, as institutions thatare easily approachable by the common person, with a sense of belongingness and as a matter of right. Thus, visibility is necessary.
The LSA must therefore participate in all melas/exhibitions, festivals or health camps etc. even if it is only by setting up of a stall with legal information and literature. Mobile vans must be made full use of to make the people aware of the existence of the LSAs and their activities. Street plays, radios and T.V.programmes would be other methods. Preparationof documentaries on the activitiesof the LSAs could also be a useful method as these documentaries could be screened even in cinema theatres. The LSAs must link up with websites of government and civil society organisations.
It is hoped that as always, the Legal Services Authorities across the country would give their utmost, with commitment and involvement and produce tangible results through the implementation of the State Plans of Action and the National Plan of Action.